


Awakening

by Hermonthis



Category: Stardew Valley (Video Game)
Genre: Gen, Introspection, One Shot, Small Towns, a hint of Willy/Farmer
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-10
Updated: 2017-08-10
Packaged: 2018-12-13 18:37:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 642
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11765940
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hermonthis/pseuds/Hermonthis
Summary: Things were changing in Pelican Town.





	Awakening

**Author's Note:**

> (Wrote this quickly this morning, so all grammatical errors are mine.)  
> Dedicated to the fanfic authors of this small fandom. Thank you for sharing your work with us.

A fisherman stood near the edge of the dock. The pink of the dawn inching over the edge of the horizon, the light of the day soon to rise and soften the moody balm of the night.

He smiled quietly to himself.

Something was happening to Pelican Town. It wasn't a bad thing, but the fisherman who faced the Gem Sea every morning and swiveled round towards the Stardrop Saloon every evening could smell it in the air. It didn't come from the water, but from the land.

Acres of abandoned farmland were being reclaimed. Grandchildren were coming into town from Zuzu City and beyond, clutching paper lifelines to their chests, wearing circles under their fatigued eyes. Weary souls still so young.

Lewis never failed to greet them. Robin took more children under her wings.

Willy approached them the next morning of their arrival, at 6am always. They were long walks from his homestead on the docks to the farms, but it was good for his old muscles. This old dog was still robust, hale. Trekking around town put meat on your bones.

They were never the same, these newcomers and hope-bringers. Meant it in the way some took to fishing, like him, or treasure-huntin'. Even Rasmodius, the reserved fellow living in that tower over yonder by Cindersap Lake, was getting accosted by those interested in magic. Not rudely, but like a scattered group of children hiding behind bushes lookin' to get a peek at their secret idol.

The fisher rubbed at his eyes with the heel of one hand, loosening his grip on the fishing pole with the other. He was going to need coffee soon or else he'd start to get creaky from standing still too long.

Some townspeople failed to notice, while others did, the small unusual occurrences surrounding them. The library shelves weren't so empty anymore, the museum receiving anonymous donations at the door. There was gold glinting in the rivers waiting to be panned. Farmers bringing him translucent fish from the mines. Weird green blobs trampling flower gardens. Mysterious raccoons rummaging through trash cans at midnight.

Pierre's General store had a damn good chance of staying in business. The Feast of the Winter Star had brought together more happy people than he'd seen in this town for a long time.

There were weddings again. The clinic needed to be expanded. The kids weren't kids anymore.

Lewis was talking about opening up an actual school.

It had to be them, the Farmers. Willy had seen a handful slip away towards the abandoned Community Center after ordering a beer and a salad at Gus's bar. Knapsacks always full of stones, wooden crates holding jams and mayonnaise in their hands. Grumpy or generous, the hands that tilled the rich, dark soil were also the hands that held this community from falling apart.

Pelican Town never felt crowded though, and for that he was grateful.

"Willy!"

The fisherman circled his head round to locate the origin of the noise. He grinned at the person on the beach approaching him, chuckling when she wobbled across the sand and kept fussing with her windswept hair. She waved at him eagerly, despite knowing she made her presence known.

He waved back.

 _Heck_ , the fisherman thought happily as he prepared to set up a portable chair for Mercedes to sit beside him, _Maybe there is someone out there for me too_.

Things were going on in Pelican Town. Magical things like whispers of Jumino Huts appearing in the mountains. Natural things like awkward confessions of affection over a bouquet of flowers. Like the possibility of a romance that involved him and a lovely lady who liked to collect seashells by the seashore.

Willy turned his back towards the ocean, took a step forwards towards the land, and felt his skin warm with the new dawn.


End file.
